NHL calls off Ducks-Capitals game due to blizzard, NBA postpones Saturday games in Philly and Washington

Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals will have to wait to take on the Anaheim ducks as a major winter storm bears down on the Mid Atlantic. (Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)

RALEIGH — The winter storm that's bearing down on the East Coast forced the NHL to postpone Friday's scheduled 5 p.m. game between the Anaheim Ducks and Washington Capitals at D.C.'s Verizon Center.

The Rangers' 7 p.m. match at the Carolina Hurricanes, however, was among five other games set to be played as scheduled despite worsening weather conditions in the region.

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Snow and sleet came down in Raleigh, N.C., all morning and continued into Friday afternoon. The roads are extremely icy, with the area much less prepared to handle winter weather than any city, town or community up north.

The Hurricanes, however, said the NHL has no real makeup date available to reschedule this game, so as of noon Friday, at least, the plan was to drop the puck as scheduled.

The storm will deliver a huge hit to the Hurricanes no matter what, though, since every Rangers visit is typically among Carolina's top-attended home games of each season at PNC Arena. The team is offering fans the chance to exchange tickets for one of six upcoming games, including a March 31 game against the Rangers.

Slick roads in North Carolina could keep fans at home for Friday night’s Rangers game. (Lance King/Getty Images)

The Rangers also have to worry about being able to get out of Raleigh on their charter plane Friday night. Most if not all commercial flights out of Raleigh prior to Sunday have been canceled.

The Rangers' plan as of now is to fly immediately postgame from Raleigh direct to Ottawa, where they would practice on Saturday afternoon before facing the Senators at 3 p.m. Sunday.

The NHL did not announce a makeup date immediately for the postponed Ducks-Capitals game. No word yet if Anaheim wants the game to be rescheduled (kidding!).

HOOPS HALTED

The NBA also postponed two games in the area — Saturday's game between the Celtics and 76ers in Philly has been pushed back to Sunday night while the Jazz and Wizards will make their game up at a later date.